The Sunset Connection - Perspectives from SF's Sunset Neighborhood

District 4 Candidate Series: Meet Jeremy Julian Greco

• Jessica J. Ho

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This episode continues The Sunset Connection’s District 4 Candidate Series, where each candidate for Supervisor is asked the same questions in the same format.

In this conversation, Jeremy Julian Greco - a longtime District 4 resident, educator, artist, and former worker-owner at Other Avenues Food Co-op -  shares his personal connection to the Sunset, what led him to run for Supervisor, and how his background shapes his approach to leadership.

Topics include community care, support for working families and seniors, small businesses, and the role of art and culture in San Francisco neighborhoods.

This is a non-endorsement interview. The goal of the series is to give District 4 residents the opportunity to hear directly from candidates in their own words before the race is reduced to slogans and sound bites.

About this series:
This is a non-endorsement candidate interview series. All participating candidates were asked the same questions in the same format to give District 4 residents direct access to how candidates think, not to persuade or advocate for any outcome. Any personal political views or activities of the host are separate from the podcast and do not affect participation or coverage. 

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The Sunset Connection — exploring the stories and histories that connect us.

Jessica J. Ho:

Alright, welcome back to the Sunset Connection. This episode continues my District 4 candidate series, where I'm speaking with everyone running for supervisor of District 4 Sunset District and asking the same questions in the same order each time, but the answers are so different each time as well. It's still early in the District 4 race, but early is when it's easiest to hear how candidates think before what they say gets condensed into slogans and sound bites. The goal of this series is to give residents that space to really understand each candidate. Today I'm joined by Jeremy Greco, a candidate for District 4 supervisor. Jeremy Greco has lived in San Francisco for 30 years, including 26 years in District 4. Originally from Santa Cruz, he worked as a campus coordinator at an independent school, and his wife of 29 years is a high school science teacher. He is the father of two daughters, spent 16 years as a worker owner at Other Avenue's Food Co-op, has written and performed three solo shows, and is the producer of Sunset Solos at Sea Level Gallery, which just celebrated its second anniversary. So, yes, uh thank you for being here, Jeremy. I'm excited to learn more about you today.

Jeremy Greco:

Thank you. It's nice to meet you.

Jessica J. Ho:

Yeah, so can you tell us a little bit about your personal connection to District 4?

Jeremy Greco:

Yes. Um I moved to San Francisco 30 years ago, and um I met my wife soon after. We both worked at Borders Books and Music, and we got married after a four-month courtship. And I moved from Alamo Square to the Inner Richmond to the Outer Sunset District. And um, for the past 26 years, um we had two daughters, and um I worked at uh Other Avenues Food Cooperative, which is an all-worker-owned food co-op, and my wife worked there for 10 years. We tend to work together a lot. Um, we worked at bookstores together and all that, and uh, we were very fortunate because we were able to bring both of our daughters to work for the first two years, and that was a very supportive environment. And then um my mother-in-law moved in with us and we rented a bigger flat, and she lived with us for 15 years, and um this last April she was able to pass away at home. She had uh dementia, which developed into Alzheimer's, and everyone was taking care of the family needs, and um it was a real gift to see her to be able to pass away at home. And um from there, um, my daughters also went to Sunset Preschool, which is a cooperative, and um I started producing Sunset solos two years ago. So I've seen the birth of my daughters here, I worked here, and um the passing of my mother-in-law, so it's a full circle environment, and I love the outer sunset.

Jessica J. Ho:

What made you decide that this was the moment to run?

Speaker 2:

You know, I was lying in bed one morning and I saw Mayor Laurie's um announcement of his previous supervisor, and I read her biography, and I was like, you know, this is something I always wanted to do. I have a pretty good resume. I'm an interesting person, at least I think so. And um, it kind of hit me like a lightning bolt, like just try it. And, you know, I got permission for my work to run. I didn't want them to see me out campaigning without their permission. And I'm doing it, you know, to serve District Four. I mean, there's been a lot of, you know, strife here. And um, I'm doing it for my daughters. I want my daughters to be able to see me run. I want, I've always just made decisions based on will I regret it on my deathbed? And if I didn't do this, I would regret it. So I uh threw my hat in the ring. And um, yeah, I want to be able to make a better world for you know, I work with children, you know, and I'm yeah, you mentioned that you work at an independent school.

Jessica J. Ho:

Which school do you work at?

Speaker 2:

Uh I work at Presidio Hill School. Okay, and that's in district um that's in the um near the Presidio, near Laurel Village.

Jessica J. Ho:

Okay, so district two?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, district two, I think. And um it's a progressive school. It's one of the longest progressive schools. It kind of runs like a co-op um in some aspects, and every part of my work there too is like I'm getting permits for events, I'm dealing with the fire department, I'm handling safety, I'm handing out bandages, you know, I'm like a go-to person. So um, and it's a very it's an honor to it's just seeing those kids every day, and I look at them and I'm like, this is our future. And so I'm doing it always for the kids.

Jessica J. Ho:

Yeah. So how do you think these previous experiences will, you know, equip you to serve if you were elected supervisor of district four?

Speaker 2:

Well, I had the privilege of working at Other Avenues Food Co-op for 16 years. And that's an all-worker-owned cooperative. And it's like no other workplace because you're running a small business. And you're not only are you running a small business, you're running an all-democratic business. So anything that we have to do, from buying the building to redoing our mural, we have to write proposals, we have to set a budget, we had to um get consensus. And you have to work with people. And I think running a small business with 20 other people and having to work in that model sets me up for success for being able to, if I'm, you know, happen to so uh be elected, work on the board of supervisors. Also, with my um theater background, I have to, you know, I get a spark of an idea and I have to write it, I have to produce it, I have to perform it. So I'm able to see projects from beginning to end. With Sunset Solos, I had an idea, and I produced that for two years. And I have artists from all over the Bay Area come out to the outer sunset to a small gallery to perform. I've had Marga Gomez, Josh Kornbluth, Will Durst, and we get full houses most of the time for a theater performance series in the outer sunset. And you know, when I have ideas, I just execute them. And, you know, and if they don't come out successful, I learn from them.

Jessica J. Ho:

So so how do you think that these experiences will prepare you to to be supervisor of district four?

Speaker 2:

Well, you know, working with other people, like I said, I had to write proposals and I worked in a small business. I had that experience. We bought, I served on a committee to buy the building of other avenues, which was able, we were able to stay the course. We're able to be a 51-year-plus business. I've worked with people, I've written proposals, I've um I can execute ideas.

Jessica J. Ho:

So, if elected, what does a win look like for you in the first year as supervisor?

Speaker 2:

Well, I know this is a um not a popular opinion, but I am for Sunset Dunes. Um, I wasn't always for Sunset Dunes, but I want to make sure the park stays, and as a community, we can build on it in the future. You know, when we were first um when Sunset Dunes came about, I was against it. And I, you know, worried about traffic, I worried about um, you know, the elderly, uh the usual things. And last year, my uh good friend passed away, and um, there's a art piece on the uh Sunset Dunes called Ocean Calling, which was um created by Jermaine Tasker and Sarah McCarthy Grimm. But it's on Ortega, and basically you go out there and it's like a phone booth, and you pick up a phone, you drop a stone in, and you make a call, and you call out to the person who has passed to the ocean. And so when my friend passed away, I went out and I did that. And then when my mother-in-law passed away last April, my wife and my daughters, we walked up there and we all made a phone call to wish her on for her next journey. And a few evenings later, there was a concert out at Ocean Calling, and people, there's a band playing, and people would call out with a microphone to the people that had passed away. It was a long line of people. And that just events sold me. It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in my entire life. And from there, I started going out there more, seeing neighbors, and um really appreciating it as a park. And we always have to ask ourselves, what kind of community are we if we don't um protect what the community loves? So Sunset Dunes is my first thing. Also, obviously, with my um is mother-in-law's passing um seniors are is another big cause of mine because I thought of the recent PGE outage, and you know, we're all making people are making videos on there, but how many 75 to 80-year-olds have access to Facebook and Instagram? How many 75 to 80-year-olds are living by themselves and they don't have the benefit of family? I remember taking my mother-in-law to the doctor and they asked her to fill out her information on an iPad. She didn't know how to do it. And seniors need that help, and and families need that help. And it's you don't, it's uh you're navigating a course where there are no answers. And I want to at least assist on providing people with care and answers. Everyone has the right to die at home with dignity with their loved ones, and that is a main reason I'm running to as well as our families.

Jessica J. Ho:

You know what's really interesting as a realtor, you're required to um disclose if someone has died in the home within the past three years. And I've noticed that a lot of um potential buyers are really scared when people die in the house. How do you think about all of that?

Speaker 1:

You know, uh I used to be, you know, in my younger years, I'd probably be a little creeped out by it, but you know, we're we're all guests on this planet, you know, we're all guests in District Four.

Speaker 2:

And um, you know, you could light sage if you want to go in the Santa Cruz hippie route that I uh am familiar with. But you know, I look at it if somebody especially is able to pass with love and care, um, it's a gift. You know, it's uh it should be I I don't know how else to put it, you know, it's it's a gift and it's not something to be scared of. I mean, hopefully the person lived a loving life and you can embrace that love that they left behind.

Jessica J. Ho:

That brings me to my next question, which is when community voices conflict, which they often do, especially in the sunset right now and probably in the last couple years, how do you decide who to prioritize?

Speaker 2:

Well, I will always prioritize working families, children, and seniors, especially people that are having a hard time struggling. My mother was a teenager when she had me and she worked full-time. And thankfully, we had HUD and um welfare to help pay for food and housing. And, you know, with each new uh tech industry that comes through here, rents raise, and it's really hard for people to make it. And I understand that. And so those are the voices that I will always answer to first.

Jessica J. Ho:

So the sunset is changing demographically, economically, and politically. What changes do you welcome, and which ones concern you?

Speaker 2:

So economics I both welcome and it concerns me. Um, the city is facing a huge deficit. And with economics, I've seen so many people in my 30 years in San Francisco get priced out. I've seen so many families have to leave. I've seen so many artists have to leave. I mean art is a backbone of San Francisco without the artists in San Francisco, and art is a backbone of San Francisco. I mean, people go to City Lights to when they visit San Francisco. Um and it's interesting, the mayor talked about CCA on a video, you know, and behind him was a picture painted by a student of the CCA, and he uh touted the wonderfulness of Vanderbilt coming in, and he didn't mention the loss that the city will face because art is being left behind, you know. And when I saw theaters closing in San Francisco, when I saw performers losing their spaces to perform, I created Sunset Solos. And I found a need, and you know, we've had over 50 performers come here. And I think there's a lot of artists in the outer sunset that need to be protected, and they're wonderful artists, Jamee Tasker, Georgia Hodges, Sea Level Gallery, Blackbird Books, host wonderful painters, Fog Gallery. And if we lose that part of San Francisco, um I find that San Francisco's in a way losing its soul. It reminds me of the Bray Bradbury book, um, you know, short story uh Sound of Thunder, where they go back in time and somebody steps on a butterfly and then they come back to the present, everything's hardened. And I think a city without art is a hardened city.

Jessica J. Ho:

What would you want residents to say about your leadership if and when this term, you know, your term as supervisor ends, even if they didn't vote for you?

Speaker 2:

Well, somebody I would model myself after is Katie Tang. I mean, I didn't always agree with her, but Katie was fantastic. I wrote her, you know, from other avenues, and she would get back to me in a second. I wrote her about when Shonta, a longtime leader at Other Avenues, retiring. I said, Hey, can we do something for Shanta? She's been such a bedrock in this community. And Katie said, Yes. And by the way, you want to be uh a legacy business? So we're able to become a legacy business. You know, I really loved how involved Katie was. She was excellent, and that's who I would model myself after. And I would also say imaginative, because you have to have a little bit of imagination when you're thinking about running a district. I mean, it just pragmatism is great, but you have to have a little imagination with it as well.

Jessica J. Ho:

The next section is the scenario where I'm asking every candidate the same scenario so listeners can better understand how each candidate approaches problem solving. So if you were a supervisor and a small business owner came up to you for help with a parking issue, but SFMTA was unwilling to make the requested changes, how would you advise the business owner?

Speaker 2:

You know, I've been in this exact situation when I worked at other avenues. In fact, we met with Gordon Maher's uh staff to discuss parking. And I remember being at a community meeting about the old Francis Scott Key building when they're talking about turning into apartments and people were complaining about parking and what will the neighborhood do. And I remember somebody said, you know, there are no permits in this district and not many uh parking meters, and everyone was in someone who said that can change, and everyone suddenly backed off. You know, I'm not proposing that, I think it would be awful for the district, but these are the things that we're dealing with. And as a small business as well, I know on Judas Street there's what an hour parking on the lower quadrant of Judas Street. That is never enforced whatsoever. I also know, and there have been um stories in the past where people come out here, they leave their cars, and they commute in. That's taking up parking places. So there's lots of issues involved here. Um, but if it's a works project, I think a business needs to get grants to stay open. But I also look at other businesses like Blackbird, Hookfish, Outer Lands, um Andytown, they always have a line out the door, and parking is not an issue for that customer base. And why I want to help businesses, and I am concerned about parking because it affected me when I was part of the other avenues um co-op. I we always when we face problems, we would always figure out what we did best, you know, what we can market ourselves best as, what products we had that nobody else had. And every time like a Trader Joe's open, a Whole Foods open, you know, we did take a hit, but we were able to always bounce back. And so Part of my conversation with businesses too is what help do you need to make your business that extra special too? Because just because you open a business doesn't necessarily mean people are going to come. You have to have that certain thing that makes people want to come there as well. And yes, parking is a problem. And I will be I'll admit that when uh Gueras had all that construction work, my shopping habits changed, you know, because I just couldn't find parking. And they are an institution in San Francisco and they shouldn't have to go out of business because of that. So, you know, I would definitely, if there's a situation like that, make sure the businesses get the grants that they need. I would also reach out to SFMTA to properly, you know, on the main quadrants, you know, make sure cars aren't parking there all day long. It did happen when we asked about that, but unfortunately happened for a week. But that would be the beginning point in my discussions.

Jessica J. Ho:

Um when you mentioned grants, what what grants are you referring to?

Speaker 2:

Well, I read an article that um I think there was a business on Noriega Street or Terabell Street that um our last supervisor uh had um somebody reached out to them about um their business suffering. So he went out and asked, um, he helped them provide grants. You know, I unfortunately, I will be uh honest, I don't know what grants they are, but I know there are grants for businesses out there.

Jessica J. Ho:

So what would s success look like in your view, six months down the road from this situation?

Speaker 2:

The success would be that um the parking meter people would enforce the rules, you know, and I don't think on the main quadrants they are not being enforced. So that would be a little success.

Jessica J. Ho:

And if that outcome is not achieved, what would you do next?

Speaker 2:

What I would like to ask the SFMTA is to spread out construction a little better. That is one thing I would definitely want. 19th Avenue, you know, Gary Boulevard, it is a mess. And I would ask for the construction to be spread out better.

Jessica J. Ho:

Um, you get two minutes to talk about anything you want. So um I'm just gonna time you.

Speaker 2:

Okay.

Jessica J. Ho:

All right, ready?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah.

Jessica J. Ho:

Okay, go.

Speaker 2:

Hi, my name is Jeremy Julian Greco, and I'm running for District 4 supervisor. And I love San Francisco and I love the sunset. It is in my life's blood. And I think we live in the greatest district of San Francisco. We have the beach, we have Golden Gate Park, we have Sunset Dunes, we have wonderful small businesses, wonderful community, and families. And I really am here to fight for you. I understand I understand uh the difficulties of families, I understand the difficulties of senior care, and I understand the difficulties of just surviving in San Francisco. And I want your assistance to help build a better sunset, and I will never stop fighting for that. And I want to solidify sunset dunes as a park, and I want the next fight to be what we want the future to look like in the outer sunset, and um I have experience running a small business with many other people where we had to work democratically with each other, and this is what I bring to District 4. I'm an artist, I'm a family man, and um, I'm a previous small business owner. And I can't tell you how much of a privilege it is just to have this experience and um ask for your vote, and I thank you very much.

Jessica J. Ho:

All right. All right. Um, so thank you, Jeremy, for joining us today.

Speaker 1:

Thank you.

Jessica J. Ho:

And thank you, everyone, for listening. You can find the rest of the District 4 candidates series wherever you get your podcasts. Until next time, take care of yourselves and each other, and I'll see you in the neighborhood.

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Jessica J. Ho | Sunset District Story Collector

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